One Piece: The Pendragon Pirates
by BorgadnRager
Summary: This story originally started as a discussion with my friend on what Devil Fruit powers would you have. It eventually became a crew and we decided to throw them into some ridiculous situation. Main characters consist of entirely OC's that become a crew and wreak havoc on the high seas. Contains mild use of profanity (and I do mean mild) rated T just to be on the safe side
1. A Good Place to Fight

**This story originally started as a discussion with my friend on what Devil Fruit powers would you have. It eventually became a crew and we decided to throw them into some ridiculous situation.**

 **Main characters consist of entirely OC's**

 **I don't own One Piece although I wish I did**

 **Thanks goes out to my buddy BlazingRedDragon**

 **Hope you enjoy the story**

Chapter 1 : A Good Place for a Fight

In a dimly lit room stood two women standing opposite a hidden figure sitting on a raised wooden throne. "I'm disappointed in you ladies." Said a distinctly male voice. "You two have failed to fulfil your quota this month."

"It's not our fault that there haven't been any of pirates coming to our part of the ocean." Replied the blue haired warrior in leather armour and a large, two-handed sword sheathed on her back.

"Besides, were just one more score behind." Added the red head clad in a simple shirt, jacket and leggings along with several pistols strapped to her. "A bit more time and you'll get your money."

"Well, you two are my more reliable workers." Reasoned the boss. "Very well, you can have your extension. Never say that I am not merciful to my fellow enforcers."

His smile shone in the gloom, a gentle smile that at first glance would be dismissed but the girls knew all too well that it hid a devious mind. With a quick bow and a rushed thank you, the two young women quickly left.

* * *

As they exited the repurposed warehouse, the two friends stopped and gazed out at the town. It was a simple port town that they had grown up in, a small but bustling town which drew its fair share of marines, merchants, pirates and other criminals. However the mayor of this little town also happened to be a crime lord who controlled the flow of criminals in and out of the island, making sure that whoever entered would agree to his rules... or else. Oddly enough, it was a peaceful existence on the island as the crime boss actually put value in people ... well, in people that could get the job done.

We should head to the docks." Suggested the blue haired warrioress. "The sooner we get this done, Reis, the sooner I can get back to my meditation."

Reis gave her companion a sly look. "Xenovia dear, doesn't your spot happen to overlook the farm grounds. The same plot that has that cute new worker..."

Xenovia cut her off with an icy glare. Reis just giggled but didn't pursue it any further. They headed down towards town into the bustling market only stopping briefly at the armoury stand because Reis wanted see the new selection of pistols that had arrived. She stared wistfully at the selection before an impatient Xenovia dragged her away. They quickly reached the docks and sat down on the short perimeter wall separating the docks from the rest of the village and pulled out a wad of wanted posters.

As town enforcers, it was their job to make sure that any 'uninvited' pirates, bandits, thieves and the like don't make it into the main economic area of the crime syndicate. Wanted posters are made of those who don't pay the entrance toll or that you've ticked off someone high up and were quickly distributed to the enforcers and were quickly (albeit not immediately) dealt with.

Reis's gaze wandered from the crowd to the open ocean and sighed. Xenovia glanced at her lifelong friend, knowing that look all too well. She was about to turn back to the job at hand when a strange commotion coming from one of the piers caught her attention.

"HAHAH. SEE BROTHER! I TOLD YOU WE'D MAKE IT!" Bellowed a voice.

She looked up and saw a large man in a crimson commodore styled jacket and tricorn hat standing with his right foot propped on the bow of the rowing boat that he was on and struck an adventurous pose. (which in their opinion just made him look even more ridiculous.) At the stern sat a young boywith a small backpack beating on a small drum at a steady beat. In front of him sat a strange grey man who keeping within rhythm of the beat with the oars. Reis also noticed the odd group and both watched on as the tall man lightly stepped off the boat and onto the pier.

He took a deep, over exaggerated breath and cried out. "Ahhh land! How I missed you so! Specifically your beef, mutton, pork and venison!" The kid hopped onto the pier to join his brother (specifically using the strange grey man as a makeshift ladder) and said something to him but the girls were too far to hear. The three headed the customs station and disappeared from view.

"Quick." Hissed Reis. "Check to see if the loudmouth is on the list."

Xenovia shuffled through the posters until she came across the one they wanted. "Here it is." She whispered.

The picture that faced them showed the same man with a sack of treasure slung over the left shoulder and a chunk of meat in his free hand. Curiously, there was a small ball of fire captured on the edge of the picture near his face but since the picture seemed to have been taken aboard a ship, they chalked it up to the possibility that it was a torch.

"Artherius 'Blood-Scale' Pendragon." Reis read out loud. "750 000 Beri bounty. Hmm, that should cover what we need quite nicely." Xenovia was about to agree when the following poster caught her eye.

"Wait Reis. Look at this." She pulled out the poster and read out the name. "Edward 'The Terracotta General' Holmes."

Reis's eyes widened slightly to see the same kid that was with the loudmouth in the picture. He was sitting on the shoulder of the strange grey man with a goofy grin on his face while waving to the camera. They took a closer look at the grey man only to see a very disturbing image staring back at them. He had two inverted teardrop shaped eyes that looked more like pits than eyes. He also wore a creepy open-mouth smile that just made the guy look even less human. The two girls exchanged looks as they took note of the 500 000 beri bounty.

"You don't think... I mean he's barely in his teens... I..."

Xenovia cut off her friend, and quickly dismissed any doubt. "No. I'm sure they are referring to the strange grey man. I highly doubt they would put such a large bounty on a simple child."

A loud roar of laughter echoed from the customs snapping them back to the task at hand. Knowing who was behind the commotion, the two enforcers headed towards the customs office to see what was going on.

* * *

As they arrived, they saw their targets talking to one of the customs official, Aunt Mia to be exact. "Do you honestly expect me to pay the toll?" Laughed Artherius.

"No sir." Explained the old crone in her slow drawn out monotone. "However, according to the laws of the Island all entrants who do not pay the toll may or may not be subject to humiliation, incarceration, subjugation, isolation, destruction, persecution, execution and..." she took a deep breath. "Fines."

"Waitwaitwait. Are you saying that I don't need to pay the tolls and I might get into a fight?"

"Yes."

"This place is awesome!"

The kid just rolled his eyes but kept his cheerful grin.

"Come on, brother. Let's go and find us a fight." The tall pirate told his little brother

"Can't we get some food first? I'm starving." Asked the boy

"Like I said, first we get some meat and then we find a fight."

The kid cheered and hopped onto the grey guy's shoulders, who this entire time hadn't said a word, and followed Artherius into the town.

The two enforcers quietly followed them at a distance and watched as the three men headed into a nearby tavern.

"Hang on." Artherius turned and faced the other two as they had arrived outside the Stolen Coin tavern. "Leave it outside. I don't want to have to deal with the same thing that happened last time."

"Sure thing." Answered the boy.

He climbed down from the grey man and followed his brother inside. Reis and Xenovia turned to each other and discussed their strategy on taking down the wanted men.

"Going in there and hauling them out will just cause unnecessary problems. Best bet is to get them to come with us." Reasoned Xenovia."

"It's a sound plan especially considering the amount you were billed for damages the last time you fought in the streets." Smirked Reis.

"Oh shut up." Growled Xenovia as she drew her large, two-handed sword. "Let's just grab their lookout and get on with it already."

Reis just nodded although her smirk never vanished. They approached the strange grey man with their weapons trained on him.

The people around, who were used of this sort of thing, ignored them but did put some distance between themselves and the ensuing conflict. Both enforcers studied their soon-to-be captive and became even more horrified at his curse. The person looked more like a stone statue than a man and the fact that he wore no clothes didn't help at all. In fact they weren't even sure that he was a man.

Xenovia levelled her sword at the strange being's head and quietly spoke to the creature. "I suggest you come quietly. We get paid extra if the target is alive."

Reis stifled a giggle at Xenovia's exaggerated machoness but kept her pistol focused on the creature. The statue guy turned his head to face the sword and cocked it at an angle. A little unnerved at its silent stare, Xenovia gestured to the thing to move out of the village. The creature remained motionless for a while, still just staring at its captors.

"Final warning." Chimed Reis.

A few more seconds passed before the thing straightened up and began to walk in the direction the two enforcers had indicated without any protest. Reis pulled out a piece of paper, wrote on it and handed it to the bouncer for him to deliver to the wanted man.

Meanwhile inside, the two pirates were busy enjoying one of the best meals that they have had in a long time.

"Brother?" asked the kid. "Why did we let them take Thud?"

"So we know where to go for a fight." Answered Artherius as he wolfed down his stack of meat.

"Makes sense. Can I have some beer now?"

Artherius picked up a mug and placed it in front of his brother. "No. Now finish your milk Eddy."

Eddy dropped his head in depression. "Ah, come on." He complained

* * *

Reis and Xenovia stood waiting on a grassy knoll for the two pirates to arrive. Their captive sat a couple of paces behind them, completely bound in rope. Reis quickly spotted the two pirates.

"There they are." She indicated to her friend. "And it's about time to. I have better things to do today."

"Suuure you do." Replied Xenovia sarcastically. She knew perfectly well that Reis's idea of a busy day involved shopping, lying about in their room or drinking vast quantities of alcohol.

Before Reis could retort, a strange crumbling sound came from the direction of their tied up captive. Both of their heads snapped towards the tied up creature only to bear witness as their captive crumbled into dust. Both women just stood there in complete shock, unable to move or even think. They weren't strangers to death but the sight of someone inexplicably turning into a pile of rubble was a whole other matter.

Xenovia was the first to recover. "That doesn't change anything. We capture both the boy and the man and collect our reward." She stated.

Reis nodded but still stared at the pile of rubble.

"Hi there." Called out a familiar voice. "Are you two the ones that we're supposed to fight?" The two enforcers spun around with weapons drawn and faced their quarry.

"Yes." replied the blue haired swordswomen. "Presuming that you are Artherius Pendragon and Edward Holmes."

"That's us except my brother's name is actually Arthur Holmes and I prefer to go by Eddy." Said Eddy.

"Dammit Eddy!" Yelled Artherius at his brother. "How many times have I told you not to tell people that!"

Eddy just shrugged before turning to Artherius. "Hey Brother, can I fight one of them?"

"Sorry kiddo but I want a challenge so you're sitting this one out." He answered while cracking his knuckles.

"But... but that's so not fair." Complained Eddy.

" _I'm allowed to destroy a marine ship but I can't get into one little fight..._ " grumbled the youngling under his breath as he was ushered to one side by his older brother.

"Hold on!" exclaimed the red haired gunslinger. "Can someone please explain that to me?!" They all turned to see her pointing at the pile of rubble and dust that was their former captive that was clearly still freaking her out.

"I must admit I'm a little curious myself." Commented Xenovia.

"Oh that. That's just my golem. That sometimes happens when I dismiss them." Shrugged Eddy as he headed towards a nearby tree.

"Enough of this!" roared an impatient Artherius "Can we please get back to the fight!"

Xenovia narrowed her eyes at the braggart. She had grown sick of the man's overconfidence and was going to relish cleaving that ego in two. Reis saw the telltale signs of her best friend's fury boiling within her and decided to take a step back. "Hey Xen, why don't you have first crack at this joker."

Artherius let out another burst of laughter. "I tell you what. Since you want to do this whole one-at-a-time bullshit, I'll give you a free hit. No tricks. No flinching. Just me standing right here."

Xenovia's restraint snapped. She charged at the tall pirate, who just stood there with his arms folded, vaulted into the air and spun to generate as much momentum as she could before slamming it into his left shoulder. A loud 'thunk' reverberated from the impact zone only to reveal the large, double edged blade just resting on his shoulder. Artherius idly swatted the sword off him while not saying a word and just grinned mockingly at her. Xenovia's initial surprise was quickly replaced with rage which she decided to take it out on the annoying pirate. A flurry of slashes erupted from the furious enforcer striking the motionless pirate who seemed completely unfazed by the torrent of blows.

Suddenly the blade snapped causing all the rage to quickly drain away from Xenovia. She stared in disbelief at her opponent who still stood there, completely unscathed. She was even more surprised when a small wooden golem snatched the remains of her sword out of her hand and ran away with it. She looked up at Artherius, who seemed just as surprised at his brother's antics.

"Eddy! What in blazes are you doing?!" He yelled.

"Nothing." Replied Eddy who was clearly doing something.

Xenovia quickly came out of her stupor and chased after the little golem which started to flail its little arms around in panic."Give me back my sword, you little bastard!" she yelled at the thing.

Artherius chuckled and turned around only to come face to face with the muzzle of a pistol at point blank range. A shot rang out and Artherius's head snapped back, the force of the shot knocking him a couple of paces back. The pirate righted himself and blinked at the gunslinger while a flattened piece of metal lands at her feet.

She merely shrugged. "Do you blame a girl for trying?"

Meanwhile, Xenovia had given up the chase and decided to make her way to where Eddy was sitting.

"Well this doesn't look right." He said to himself while examining what could only be described as a bunch of sharp, jagged spikes attached to a handle.

"Is that my..." A pang of sadness blossomed in Xenovia's heart as she gazed sorrowfully at the mangled remains of one of her most trusted companions.

"I'm not finished yet." Stated the annoyed boy. "Just give me a second."

Xenovia watched in fascination as he rubbed his hand across the spikes and they began to warp and meld together. He then hit the metal with his fist causing it to flatten and take the shape of a blade. Finally he pinched the metal between his forefinger and thumb and glided them along the blade edge. A couple of seconds later, he was holding a completed sword and offered it to the warrior.

"There you go. Sorry it doesn't look like the original but I really wasn't paying much attention" Xenovia gazed at her new sword, a single edged, guardless two handed sword and when she tested the edge, she found that it was also incredibly sharp.

"Why?" she asked.

"Simple." He explained. "Arthur won't fight you without it and then complain all day about it."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"No problem. Now go attack my brother before he gets bored."

"...and that's why they call it a duck foot pistol. Now if I had access to those weapons..."

Before Reis could finish her long winded explanation about something to the half-asleep pirate, Xenovia came barrelling into him at full tilt brandishing her shiny new sword. The pirate let out a yell as he was suddenly woken up and sent hurtling off his feet.

Reis quietly slipped around the brawl and padded over to where the youngling that was laughing his head off.

She pointed her pistol at him and got his attention." Alright, enough games. Call off you brother and you don't get hurt."

Annoyance flickered across his face as his hand quickly shot up and grabbed the muzzle.

"Ugh, I'm sick of people thinking I make a good hostage. What is it about me that people automatically think that they should take me hostage. Oh and one more thing, I wouldn't pull that trigger if I were you."

Reis quickly saw what he meant after he removed his hand from the barrel. The muzzle was neatly sealed. Before she could react to one of her favourite guns being ruined, a giant clay hand erupted from the ground and quickly enveloped her.

"Let me go." Yelled Reis

"In a minute." Grinned Eddy. "But you'll have to beat me at a little game first."

"What sort of game?" asked Reis suspiciously.

Eddy waved over one of his little wooden golems which came over immediately and belly flopped onto the ground in front of him. He placed his hand onto the back of the construct and it immediately began to transform.

"Chess!" he announced while revealing a newly formed wooden chess board and pieces.

"Well since I have nothing better to do. Sure, why not."

"Yay! Finally I get to actually play a game. It's so hard to find good opponents, well ones that aren't trying to lock me up or end me."

Reis giggled. "What about your brother?"

"Really? Have you seen my brother?" replied the boy sarcastically

"Ha ha, point taken. Now if you could do something about my bonds..."

"Oh right. That would help, wouldn't it?"

He snapped his fingers and Reis felt that she could move her arms but not much else. The clay surrounding her shifted and repositioned her into a comfortable sitting position.

"That's not what I had in mind." She deadpanned. Eddy just smirked and moved the first piece.

Meanwhile Xenovia was going to town on the older brother.

"Hohohaha... Please...stop...hahaha...it tickles...it...tickles... hahahaha!" Laughter cascaded from Artherius as he rolled around on the floor in tickle induced convulsions.

Sweat started to pour off the warrioress as the prolonged and ultimately useless beating started to take its toll.

"The best sword I ever had and all its good for is to TICKLE! AND WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Despite her rage coursing through her veins, fatigue was creeping through her body and she knew she wouldn't last long. She ceased her pummelling and took a step back to catch her breath.

Artherius picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off while tears were still streaming down his face. "That...that's the first time anyone has tried to tickle me to death. Can't say it hasn't been fun but its time to end this."

Artherius cracked his knuckles and strode menacingly towards her. Xenovia knew she was in trouble and quickly searched for her companion which she quickly discovered that Reis was playing a board game with the enemy.

"Reis! What the hell are you doing!" yelled the ticked off swordswoman.

"What does it look like?" replied the gunslinger." "I'm currently winning a game of chess. Checkmate."

"What!" cried out Eddy "Best to out of three?"

Xenovia was about to berate her further but a looming shadow cut her off.

"Leave them to their fun. You have a prior responsibility to deal with."

A large fist flew at her but she managed to duck and roll out of the way. She spun round and lashed out with her sword. Artherius chuckled as he strolled up to her, ignoring the blade as it bounced off his body. With a smirk, he pounced and delivered a knee to her stomach causing her to double over. Spluttering, she rolled into a defensive stance. The speed of the blow caught her off guard but she was determined for it not to happen again. Artherius sent a couple of lightning fast left jabs towards her which she dodged and parried however the flurry masked a right uppercut that found its mark. The vicious punched connected her jaw and launched her several feet into the air. Artherius grabbed her ankle out of the air and slammed her into the ground, repeatedly. He then picked up the dazed warrior and threw her into the tree that Eddy and Reis were next to. Reis yelped as her best friend flopped into the ground, completely unconscious.

Xenovia had lost her grip on her sword after the massive uppercut which had flown through the air and buried itself into the chessboard.

"Noooo! I was winning that game!" Eddy cried.

Reis was struggling against her bonds and was begging for Eddy to let her go. Eddy had hopped up off the floor and was checking Xenovia to see if she was ok. He absentmindedly waved his hand and Reis's clay prison crumbled off her. She rushed to her side and knelt down beside her friend.

Eddy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She's alright although she's going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up."

"Well that was fun." Announced Artherius "Come on Eddy. Let's go and get some more to eat."

"Coming." Replied the kind hearted boy. He turned towards Reis and asked. "Need any help getting her home?"

She simply shook her head and lifted her comatose friend onto her shoulders. Eddy scampered to his brother's side but not before waving goodbye to the two enforcers. Reis waved back and began the long journey of hauling her best friend and sword back to their home. She smiled despite herself at the odd pair and wondered what other trouble those two will cause.

Meanwhile on top of a hill, a man sitting in a deck chair had witnessed the fight and was busy stroking his thin, wispy beard in contemplation. "Yes, they will do nicely."

 **A little information on the characters**

 **Eddy Holmes  
Devil Fruit Power: Sculptor sculptor fruit allows him to bend any raw material into what shape or form he wants and create and control golems. Golems have a limited programmable intelligence. Eddy's range is also limited and any golems outside it will cease to function or just crumble to dust**

 **Personality: Eddy is incredibly curios individual and is constantly tinkering with something which often gets him into trouble. Since he is also incredibly young, he loves to play games and will be naïve on some matters**

 **Other character will be overviewed in following chapters**


	2. A Blatant Enemy

**Hey everybody I'm back with the 2nd chapter of** ** _that story that took frigging forever to come out._**

 **I apologize for the delay but I had a series of technical difficulties hindering my progression (Computer termination, exams of doom and the most heinous of medical problems: laziness**

 **Want to thank all that have read it and hope you enjoy this chapter**

 **I've also been asked if one of my vast array of followers (sarcasm I know) could submit their own OC's and the answer is Yes because I want to have as much fun with this as you do (although admittedly the crew slots are quite full already)**

Xenovia groaned. Her whole body was sore and stiff as pain erupted through her every time she tried to move. Her eyes fluttered open and she discovered she was surrounded by all too familiar surroundings. She stared at the ceiling as the memory of her fight (or more specifically her beating) came flooding back to her. She tenderly rubbed her swollen jaw which still stung like there was a shard of molten metal still stuck in it and it was all thanks to that tall oaf. (She soon remembered a few other choice words but then she started hallucinating about a lazy writer and decided to drop it.) She sat up and shifted her body against the wall, allowing the cool stone to ease her tension. She didn't hear the footsteps outside her door and jumped when Reis stuck her head in the doorway and greeted her. "I see you're finally awake. Well it's about time. You know I hate it when I have to be the responsible one. Getting up early, cleaning up the place..."

Xenovia raised her eyebrow. "Cleaning? You?"

Reis giggled and sat on the edge of her bed. "I need to get some stuff from the market. Do you need anything?"

"Let me know if they're selling any payback." Xen's hoarse voice brought a pang of sympathy in Reis's heart but she dismissed it quickly as she knew that Xenovia was a big girl and would probably pummel her it if Reis mentioned it.

"I'm pretty sure they're fresh out but I'll check for you." Reis replied with a sympathetic smirk. She placed her left forefinger on Xenovia's head and pushed her back into bed. "Now get some rest." She added before turning to leave. Xen put up little resistance when her best friend tucked her back into bed as she was still a bit tired. As Reis was about to leave her room, she put on an exaggerated motherly voice and said loud enough for everyone in earshot to hear. "Now you be a good girl while I'm gone and no uninvited hunky farm workers." She quickly closed the door just in time to hear a thump echo off the other side of the door.

* * *

Meanwhile in one of rooms above the Stolen Coin tavern, Artherius lay on the bed comfortably snoring the morning away. Eddy, on the other hand, was already awake and reading a book to pass the time. He glanced out the window and then put the book away.

"Alright." He said to the three little golems in the opposite corner of the room. "It's well passed sunrise and Atherius did say he wanted to be woken up early. So which one of you three wants to wake him up?"

Each golem pointed to the left leaving the one on the left end pointing at empty air. Once the end golem quickly realised there was nobody else to throw responsibility onto, it held up his hands and shook his head, clearly not wanting to be the one to do it.

"Sorry mate. Looks like the vote is unanimous. Wait, is that even a word. Yuu-nan-uh-mus. Whatever, doesn't matter. Just go wake him up."

The little golem hung its head and trudged towards the slumbering pirate. Once next to the bed, it lightly poked Artherius in his engorged belly which jiggled at its touch but left the pirate snoring peacefully. The golem turned to Eddy and shrugged, probably in hope that his creator will change his mind but no such luck. "Put some effort into it." Instructed Eddy.

The golem's head dropped again and this time he punched Artherius in his belly several times. After no response, the golem turned back towards Eddy and shrugged again however it didn't notice a fist fly over its head and shatter it into a thousand pieces. Artherius let out a huge yawn and dragged himself out of bed. "Morning Eddy." He announced.

His gaze flickered towards the remaining golems. Reacting quickly, one of the golems pushed the other in front of Artherius who immediately picked it up and crushed it between his hands.

"So what's for breakfast brother?" asked the eldest of the two.

"Pork." Answered Eddy as he picked up the pieces and 'resurrected' the two broken golems.

"Excellent. What about lunch?"

"Nothing."

"What?" growled Artherius's

"We're out of cash." Eddy stated matter-of-factly.

"Well that's what I have you for." Artherius's said while his quickly mood snapped back to his normal cheerful self. "Go out there and get us more money."

"Will do. Oh and try not to burn down the island while I'm gone"

"No promises." Smirked Artherius as they both headed for downstairs.

* * *

The market was fairly busy but the friendly and flirtatious gunslinger had little trouble breezing through the lines. (The reason for this is still up for debate as to whether it was her tight fitting shirt or the vast array of pistols strapped to her person.) With the groceries done she headed home, that is until she saw a small crowd gathering just near the outskirts of the marketplace, usually reserved for non-local traders. (Legitimate or otherwise.) Curiosity getting the better of her, which wasn't that hard since she had nothing else planned that day, she approached the stand and discovered a familiar face. "Eddy?!" she called out.

"Oh hi." He answered. "You're one of those two that we fought with yesterday day, aren't you?"

"How sweet of you to remember. What are you doing here?"

"Making statues. Want one?"

"No thanks. Besides we can't afford it. Aren't you worried that some other Enforcers will attack you?"

"Worried, no. Hopeful, definitely. Are you sure you don't want one?"

Reis took a quick look at his wares which were well made with an incredible amount of detail. The various statues of ships, creatures and people of different sizes were made of either stone or wood but they shone in the sun as each one was well polished. Her eye wandered over to Eddy's main attraction, a large wooden statue of a four legged dragon with his front claw on a pile of gold, wings flared and it was breathing a large plume of fire into the sky.

"How much is that one?" she asked still in awe of the beautifully sculpted statue.

"Sorry. That one's sold already but I do have this one." Eddy dropped under the table and rummaged around a bit before popping back up with a statuette on a pedestal. It was a similar styled dragon except that it was clutching a human skull in the one paw and not breathing fire. He handed it over to her. "There you go."

"Eddy I just said..."

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Keep it. You did beat me at that chess game and you kinda left empty handed so..." His cheeks his flushed with embarrassment as he stumbled over his sentence. Reis took the statuette and lent over the counter and kissed the boy on the cheek and smiled at the boy.

"Ugh, gross. If I knew you were going to do that, I wouldn't have given you that infernal thing." Complained the boy with his face turning bright red from further embarrassment. Reis laughed at the boy and waved goodbye to him as she left.

* * *

Artherius was idly strolling around town, quietly thinking to himself about nothing in particular.

"Excuse me." Said a gruff voice off to his left side. "Are you the one called Artherius Pendragon?"

"Who wants to know?" he replied, cracking his neck.

"Our beloved mayor would like to speak to." Replied the deep voice in an incredibly droll tone. "If you would kindly follow me."

"And why should I?" replied the pirate while not bothering to face the messenger.

"He said he has an offer for you and will pay handsomely for your services."

Artherius perked up when he heard that but tried to play it cool. "So be it. Take me to your mayor."

Artherius turned towards the stocky man with short, dark hair and followed him down the street. After winding through the streets, they came up to a large two story building that had many people coming in and going out. They entered the building and headed up the stairs and entered a smallish office. There was enough space for some shelves, a filing cabinet and desk and chair but not much else. A young brunette in a nondescript grey dress sat at the desk, scribbling down notes on a pad and going through some miscellaneous paperwork.

"Thank you Theresa." She said without looking up. "That will be all."

The man that Artherius was following grunted and turned towards the door, revealing that he had breasts and was a woman. A shiver ran down Artherius's spine as he shook the weird feeling off himself.

"Just wait one moment. The Mayor will see you momentarily." Said the busy secretary.

Artherius merely shrugged his shoulders and leant against the wall. It wasn't long before the door opened and somebody came out and spoke to the secretary. "Is that all?" She asked

"Yes. Thank you for your time Xenovia."

" _Xenovia? For some reason that name seems familiar."_ Thought the pirate who, this entire time, was gazing blankly at a row of books on a nearby shelf. He pulled his gaze away from the book shelf and turned his head and saw a blue haired warrior glowering at him.

" **You.** " She hissed. Her hand flashed to her sword and she swung it at him but it jerked to a stop midway as it got stuck in the ceiling.

"Hi there." Grinned Atherius as he watched Xenovia trying to wrench her blade out of the ceiling.

Xenovia tore her sword out of the ceiling, pointed it at Artherius's throat and growled. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you?"

"No fighting in the town hall." Stated the secretary who was busying herself with her paperwork .

'Well there's one reason." Smirked Artherius.

She glared at him for a moment before putting her sword away and stormed back home. Artherius chuckled at the young swordswoman knowing full well that she wasn't ready for a rematch judging by the slight tremor in her arm.

"The mayor will see you now." Said the secretary.

Artherius headed through the door and entered an office that was only slightly larger than the secretary's. The pirate sat down in a chair opposite an old man in a business suit waiting for him at his desk. "Hello boy. Glad you could join me." Greeted the old man as held his hand out.

Artherius shook his hand. "Hi old man. So what is it that I can do for you?"

"Straight to the point, I like that. Well as mayor of this island, I have discovered a plot against me and I'm making sure that I have the necessary man power to keep my interests safe. That's where you come in."

Artherius sceptically raised his eyebrow. "Mercenary work? I don't see why not but I can't see why a mayor with a small army of fighters needs the help of just one man."

The mayor chuckled. "Let's just say that it's an internal matter so trust is in short supply at the moment and besides, I didn't say I wasn't going to pay you for your services."

"Ha, I do like to get paid. Alright then, my price is food and gold. All the meat I can eat and a pile of gold will do me just fine. Oh and don't try to trick me with fool's gold because I can smell the difference."

"Sounds easy enough. I'll send someone to finalise the deal later on in the day."

"One more thing. If you want to hire my brother, I suggest that you speak to him as he hates to work for free. He was really pissed off the last time..."

"Don't worry about it. I already spoke to him earlier this morning while we were looking for you. Nice kid. Good sculptor."

Artherius got up and shook the mayor's hand in agreement and headed towards the door. The mayor stood up and headed to the window revealing that he was wearing a bright pair of yellow board short with palm tree motifs and sandals. "One more thing boy." Said the mayor just before Artherius left. "I'll be teaming you up with a couple of my enforcers so listen to what they have to say and try not to kill them."

Artherius merely grunted his response and left.

* * *

The sun was high overhead and the morning bustle had calmed down considerably with most of the people heading for lunch. Xenovia and Reis had decided to head over to the Enforcer headquarters (which was the repurposed warehouse on a nearby hill just east of the docks).

"I don't know about this Xen." Said Reis who was wearing a one of her woollen lined jackets despite it being a warm, sunny day.

"Then do what I do. Say as little as possible." Reassured Xenovia but thought to herself " _If that's even possible."_

"But we have so many friends there. There's Bill and Gary and Tom from accounting not to mention Julie, Jeanie, Alicia..."

Xenovia spun Reis around and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Enough. Just because the big boss suspects a coup doesn't mean that it's going to happen or who will be on our side. Let's just go in there and find out what is going on and then we'll decide, okay?"

Reis simply nodded and followed her inside. The place was pretty full with both fighters and support staff all huddled in various groups each discussing amongst themselves. Xenovia strolled through the crowds and headed to the leader of the enforcers' office. She flung the door open and threw a small sack onto the desk.

"Xenovia, come on in. It's always a pleasure to have you grace my presence." The boss's chair was swivelled to face the window in the back of the room. There wasn't anything special about this room other than that the boss used it when signing reports or conducting meetings. It was a very spartan in appearance that seemed to contradict his sophisticated demeanour.

"The money that's due." Said Xenovia as she tossed a bag filled with money on his desk and promptly left the office.

The Boss smiled to himself. "Loyalty and dedication. Two traits that have never wavered within you, my dear. Keep doing what you're doing and everything shall go along just fine."

Reis was leaning against some crates waiting for Xenovia and idly listening to the various conversations.

"Psst."

" _Strange."_ She thought " _Thought I heard something"_

"Psst."

Upon hearing it a second time Reis glanced around to see if she could find the source.

"Try looking behind you." Whispered an impertinent young voice.

Reis turned around and saw Eddy crouched behind the crates and waving at her.

"Eddy!" she hissed in a low whisper which was difficult as the appearance of the young boy took her completely by surprise. "What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"

"What! No!" Eddy whispered loudly. "I was told to find you."

"Really? Why?"

"To ask you if you made your decision."

"I... need Xen... since we're a team. Come to think about it, how did you get in here?"

"Through the side entrance."

"We don't have a side entrance."

"You do now."

Reis giggled at the youngster's matter-of-fact attitude.

"Reis, what are you doing?" Reis jumped as Xenovia approached her from behind. She looked over the crate that Eddy was hiding behind. "Oh, it's you. Are you stalking us?"

"Nooo." Eddy's face flushed with embarrassment.

"He wants to know what our plans are." Explained Reis

"The mayor did pay off the debt and I don't trust the boss. Our best bet is with the old man."

"Do you trust him as far as you can throw him?" asked Eddy impishly.

"I could throw him pretty far so no." Smirked Xenovia.

Eddy snickered. "Well in that case, my brother and I are at your disposal as per the agreement with the mayor."

Xenovia groaned.

"Relax." Reis said as she tried to placate her best friend. "Eddy's not that bad."

"I rather like Eddy." Replied Xen. "It's his brother that I have a problem with."

"I know what you mean." Eddy agreed in mock sympathy. "He can be a real jerk sometimes."

They all chuckled softly at Artherius's expense and decided to leave with Reis and Xen leaving the way they came and Eddy sneaking out via his 'side entrance'.

* * *

The trio arrived outside Reis and Xen's small cottage and headed inside. Eddy quietly sat himself down at the table in the kitchen and waited for the two enforcers as they took off their weapons and sat themselves next to the boy.

"So where's your brother." Xenovia asked bluntly.

"I sent a golem to find him. With any luck, he'll see the note attached to it."

"That's a very impressive ability you have, Eddy. I'm surprised you aren't living it up in some fancy place building stuff for the marines or the world government." Said Reis.

A shadow passed over Eddy's face. "Yeah. Working for that lot..." A smile quickly returned to his face. "Who cares about them. It's much more fun being a pirate and going on adventures."

Reis and Xenovia exchanged a look and both decided not to pursue the subject. Before they could continue their light conversation, a knock came from the door and Xenovia got up to answer it while Reis and Eddy discussed their plans for tomorrow. (Which turned into a contest of who could beat up the most enemies.)She opened the door as was greeted by the smiling visage of her most hated enemy.

"Hi there. Have you seen my brother? He's about yay big." Asked Artherius as he gestured a small round ball with his hands.

The door slammed in his face.

"Who was it?" Reis called to her friend who was still by the door quietly counting under her breath.

"It was my brother, wasn't it?" smirked Eddy. "Just let him in before he rips the door off his hinges."

Xenovia had a sneaky suspicion that Eddy wasn't completely joking and reluctantly re-opened the door.

"Hi there. Have you seen my brother? He's about..."

"Oh shut up and get inside!" Xenovia yelled at the pirate.

Artherius entered the house while Xen slammed the door behind him.

"Hey there, Arthur. What took you so long?" Commented Eddy as his brother walked in.

"You should know by now that I do what I want, when I want, why I want and ... uh, how I want."

"Can we please get on with this before my headache gets worse and I decide to do something about it." exclaimed Xen. "The sooner I tell you what's going to happen the sooner we can come up with a plan to stop it.

The others fell silent although the smirk on Artherius's face bothered Xenovia but she ignored it and proceeded.

"As you know, our 'beloved' boss is attempting to overthrow the mayor and take over the whole Island. The actual mayor wants us to stop him from doing so. Fortunately for us not all of the enforcers are on board with the whole coup but it's only a small handful that apparently will be fighting with us."

"Good." interrupted Artherius. "A bigger fight for me."

"Xen, this much has been obvious from the beginning." stated Reis. "But what I don't understand is why has it been so obvious. I mean the boss hasn't even attempted to hide the fact that he is attempting a coup. Everyone has been talking about it but not a hell of a lot has been done to stop it."

"I know, I know. In fact they're planning on just marching up to the front door of the town hall and demanding that they hand over control of the island. From what I managed to gather is that any looting or otherwise will be dealt with severely. " sighed the blue haired warrior. "It doesn't make sense. The boss is intelligent, very intelligent but broadcasting your motives like this is a stupid move even if it is just to make it appear peaceful, not to mention how does he expect to control the mob . I just can't understand it."

"Maybe it's just a feint." spoke up the young boy. "Just one big smoke screen to hide whatever else he's got planned."

"Agreed but we still don't know what his end game is."

"What do we know about this guy?' Interrupted Artherius

Xenovia shook her head. "Honesty, not much. He tends to keep to himself and I wasn't his biggest fan. All I know is that he was personally appointed by the mayor and has always been loyal to him or so we thought."

Eddy's gaze fell into empty space as he went deep in thought. "I'm hazarding a guess here." Eddy pondered. " But if he was personally appointed then that would mean he was close to the mayor and knows a great deal about him. It's probably some kind of long term assassination plot deal so he'll most likely have all the mayor's hiding spots covered. However..."

Xenovia smiled weakly at the boy, somewhat impressed with his intelligence for one so young.

"It's possible but unlikely." she replied but Eddy didn't hear as he was still lost in thought mumbling _kidnapping or theft_ to himself. "Anyway , it doesn't matter . We're stationed at the Town Hall which means we've got the most to take on. Artherius, you're our heavy hitter which means you'll be in the thick of it doing the most damage."

"Did I ever tell you guys how much I love this place." Artherius said with a tear running down his face.

Ignoring him Xenovia continued. "Eddy, Can you build an army to slow them down?"

"They don't call me the General for nothing. In fact why don't I just build a wall around the place although getting the material I needed may be a bit of a problem."

"Excellent. Grab what you need and head to the Town Hall. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get some rest because tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."

 **This chapter we focused a little more on Xenovia**

 **As to why she is called Xenovia well blame Blazingreddragon (that and I kinda like the name)**

 **As I'm sure you could figure out she is the beserker of the group and has the temper of a pissed off volcano god(dess) with to much free time.**

 **However she is one of the more responsible of the group and is usually compared to an elder sister (an elder sister with a temper like a jalapeno chili on steroids with Small Penis Syndrome.) as she felt she had to take care of her best friend which is one of the reasons she puts a lot of pressure on herself to be in** **as much** **control as she can. (hence the anger management techniques which don't always work). Seeing herself as a protector is one of the reasons she chose the role of a swords-woman.  
**

 **The reason for why she chose to wield a big sword is just to intimidate men especially when they decide to compare sword length with each other. As one of the physically strongest people on the island she does tend to rely on her physical prowess more than her mental ability but that doesn't mean she is an idiot (in fact she is quite intelligent and I'm not say that because she's standing behind me)**


End file.
